The Forest Republican. [volume] (Tionesta, Pa.) 1869-1952, 1887-05-04

rOd away, but out o sight, cause 'twere
in the gulley, twenty-five foot lowern
the clearin'. An speakin' O. sucker fish
in, sonny, ye'll see, fore l git through
with this leetle anecdote, th't tn was
suckers in the creeks in them days. Tn
haint none in 'em now, but thuz many
o. one Outen the creeks, an big un's,
too. Wall, wen l come in sight o. whar
OF Sloplick orter been jist more thin bill
ing, OWN to the hard rains, l almos'
tumbled back in a faintin' fit. Th'
want no Sloplick thar The bed o. the
creek were dryer'n a salt herrin' Ez fur ez
l could see down the creek, a picked
chicken couldn't a ben no barer thin
them rocks on the bottom was. The
creek had fall o. more'n twenty foot to
the miled, an even in low water went
down by thar, on its way to the river
three miled below, like peeled hemlock
log down roll way, an thar she were,
arter all them rains, dry an empty from
bank to bank. Peleg, were skeert, and
tuck TO tremblin' wuss thin hungry
dog at daylight on a frosty morn
in. l thort the world were comm
to an end right thar an then. Pooty
soon l got stiddy enough to look up the
creek, an then | were skeert wuss'n ever,
fer bout a quarter of miled away, in
that direction, thar were the creek agoin
up stream ez fast ez it could tearl Coin
right up that big grade O. twenty foot to
the miled, Peleg, like train o. keers !
Wen l see that jist Topped right down
an waited fer the earthquakes an Gabriel
to come followin' along, acrackin' an
atootin' l laid thar awhile, but they
didn't neither on em come, an the creek
KEEP aclimbin' up to'ards its headwaters,
zif it'd ben sent fer to come back hum
an hadn't no time to spare gittin' thar.
1t were movin' back'ards in flood more'n
thirty foot high, ez nigh ez l could jedge
from seein the gable end of it, and pooty
soon 1 noticed that tn were a heap o.
commotion on the edge of it.
"'Wall, says to myself, gittin' up
onter my feet, 'th' can't be nothin' to
hurt Teller in a food th't's doin' its
best to run away from him like
that, says l, AN so 1 guess I'll
quit waitin' fer Gabriel an the 'arth-
quakes, says 1, AN IL jist start arter that
/ creek an see watts a ailin' on it to
make it go an cut up that way says l.
$50 away dug ez tight ex my legs'd
carry me, but the creek had got such a
start o. me that it tuck me a good half
hour fore 1 ketched up with it. An ez
soon ez did ketch up with it, my son,
see to wunst wat were ailin' on it. Ye
must know, to git the hang o. this, Peleg,
th't suckers starts fer the creeks on the
fust high water tht comes in the spring,
an th't they gether together by the boat
/ or ba he yNf ~ 80,
the flood th't tells 'em things is ready feI
'em up the creek, an then up they go.
That had been an onusu'l good season for
suckers to winter over in, an they had
waxed an crowd fat, an gethered in
such uncommon big crowds, th't wen
they started in at the mouth o. Sloplick
Creek that ninth day o. April, they jest
damned the hull course o. the stream, an
fer time it had been nip an tuck ez to
witch d hef to stop, the creek or the
suckers. But in them days suckers had
vim an push in 'em, These fellers at the
mouth O. Sloplick had started to git up
that creek, an 'twa'n't their fault, b'gosh,
/ if it couldn't furnish water enough, with
all the rain it ID had fer a week past, fer
'em to wiggle up on; so they jist put their
/ shoulders to the wheel, an at it they
went, an showed the rushin' flood of oil
Slopliek right back with 'em, pilin' it up
in wall thirty foot high, an keepin' her
a movin' back so fast, steep ez the grade
were, th't she couldn't git no footholt,
an had to 60 So, of course, ev'rything
were left high an dry ahind that pushin'
army o. suckers, an natur' in them parts
were lookin' queer
''Peleg, when ketched up to that re-
/ treatin' creek, nothin could be seen on
face O. that high wall but snouts, an
tails, an fins, an backs, an bellies o.
suckers. They was piled on one another
/ from the bed o. the creek to the top o.
the food, pushin' an shown and crowd
/ in to keep the ball rollin'. l see wat
the hull business meant to wunst, an
pitched right in to do some O. the tallest
sucker ishin' tht were ever heered on
along Sloplick Greek. / chucked away
my pole and duv inter that bank o
suckers an jist went to minin' fish by the
ton. They KEEP me on dead run TO keep
up with 'em, they was h'istin' that stream
up hill so fast, but l grabbed an clawed
right an left, an throw'd suckers out on
the bank by the wagon load. l strung
suckers along the banks fer a miled, an
still the food went a rollin' up hill ez easy
ez pickin' up sticks. The headwaters o
Sloplick Creek was in a swamp almost on
thessop. o. BOBBY Ridge. Ez were run
min long ahind that sucker bank all of q
suddent it struck me that if nothin' hap
pened to stop 'em, them suckers'd shove
the creek clean through the swamp, the
way they was goin', and push her on ovel
the ridge, and then she'd go tehoot dowr
t'other side, and an wipe Slayerop':
clearing often the face o. creation quick
er'n lightnin' could melt a tub Of butter
l were bound TO see the fun, an if suck
ers want the timidest an skeeriest crit
tiers th't swims, that fun d a come Il
pass.
1T had happened, sonny, th't only
the other day afore this high OF sucke
tishin' o. mine, had considered it a lee
tie piece o. duty owed TO the commu
nifty to pitch inter Shadrack Jamberry
OF Poke Jamberry's boy, an lam hin
the properest kind. Consistently he haC
a grudge agin me. He lived close to tn,
creek, nearly two miled above our place